In China, firm withdraws marry or be fired ultimatum

A couple poses for wedding photos on a street near the Forbidden City in Beijing on February 11, 2025. | Agence France-Presse

HONG KONG — A Chinese company in the eastern industrial hub of Shandong withdrew an order in February that required single employees to get married by the end of September, after local authorities said it violated the country’s labor laws.

The move, which caught the attention of local netizens and authorities, comes as China grapples with how to incentivize young couples to wed and have children to boost the country’s declining population.

The notice by Shandong Shuntian Chemical Group to its 1,200 employees said that all single workers, aged 28-58, including those divorced, would be required to “get married and start a family…before September 30, 2025”.

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If it is not completed by the third quarter, the company will “terminate the labour contract”, it said according to a notice circulated on social media and reported by several state-backed newspapers including the Global Times and Beijing News.

Shandong Shuntian did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The notice stated that the company “promotes the spirit and cultural values of “diligence, kindness, loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness,” the Global Times reported.

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Labor laws

However, the notice violated relevant provisions of China’s labor law and labor contract law, the Times said, without giving details. State media said the notice had been withdrawn.

The company had said that the intention was to encourage older unmarried employees to focus on “important life decisions and motivate them to marry and settle down”.

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Marriages in China plummeted by a fifth last year, the biggest drop on record.

China has the second-biggest population in the world at 1.4 billion – one that is aging quickly.

The birth rate fell for decades due to China’s 1980-2015 one-child policy and rapid urbanization. And in the coming decade, roughly 300 million Chinese – the equivalent of almost the entire U.S. population – are expected to enter retirement.

Measures taken last year by authorities to tackle the problem included urging China’s colleges and universities to provide “love education” to emphasize positive views on marriage, love, fertility and family.